I am going to be building a stand for my enclosure the plant will be potted into the stand and the cage screen cage will sit on top of it. Is there any type of a wood that is a no no? or rather what is a recommended type of wood to use that will not cause any health issues with my Veiled Cham.
Building stand for Enclosur
- Thread starter TrueCut
- Start date
VeiledOwner87
New Member
first off, glad to see more DIY. i know there have been many people who have planted the plants inside their stand, but i have to kind of go against it. you need to consider things along with the potential hazzards it brings.
you need to consider drainage. do you have a system under the stand to catch water? retained water in the stand will cause mold growth and a hazzard for the chameleon's health.
you need to consider cleaning. if ever you have to do a substrate change up, or just plain take everything out and clean it, how convienent and time consuming will it be?
you need to consider feeders and insect hatching. feeders escape and will often burrow under the substrate (super worms, meal worms) they will pupate and transform into their next level, and if unoticed will grow and be harmful if your cham ingests it. super beatles shell is extreamly tough after a certain time after coming out of its pupate. crickets will get loose and lay eggs, before you know it, you could potentionally have thousands upon thousands of pin heads around the place. wet or damp soil is a breeding ground for gnats and other micro insects.
you need to consider substrate. it is always recommended keepers do not use substrate due to impaction, too much ingestion, etc. it is not a safe gamble
and you need to consider the extra work. -- in constructing not only a stand of this type, but an extra add on for a drip pan. this alone could make your stand 3.5'-4' tall at least. not saying a tall cage set up is bad, but is it worth going through the extra construction?
other than that, you can use any type of wood for a stand. if there are toxic woods for chams, it wouldnt matter since the chameleon wont be touching this wood. i would use just strap spruce 2x1's or 4x1's for the frame, and a nice touch 1/2'' sheet wood or ply wood for the walling.
hope this helps
Yah for sure, I plan on putting a drain in the bottom I was going to put a type of plastic on top of the soil and then put river rocks on top of the plastic and then possibly put paper towels down on top of the rocks for easy cleaning. Just wanted to make sure there was no potential hazards with the wood.
VeiledOwner87
New Member
very good. although i dont think you have to be extreme with paper towels over the rocks. a simple layer of screening over the soil and then the river rocks over it! you may still want to actually water your plants once a week though, still with a misting system, you would have to leave it running for a long time in order for it to go through everything, into the roots. but even if, that drainage system will do justice. 
